


A Simple Truth

by HouseElfMagic



Category: Eyewitness (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash, Present Tense, pre-series but still au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-19 13:42:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12411408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HouseElfMagic/pseuds/HouseElfMagic
Summary: What if Lukas told everyone that Philip was taking video of him for motocross instead of hiding their friendship and being even more suspicious?No Murders AU---Short ficlet that I may add another chapter to later. Happy Eyewitness week!





	A Simple Truth

Lukas knew he was being ridiculous and acting like a stalker. But new kids in Tivoli were a rare occurrence, and new kids who were secretive was even more rare. Lukas didn’t remember meeting any at all, actually.

So he was curious about the new kid, enough to kinda sorta spy on him if they were in the same place. He didn’t go searching him out, so it didn’t count as stalking, right? Lukas might just be the tiniest bit obsessed.

The newbie was strange. For one, he didn’t like to talk to people. He didn’t bother making any friends or socializing. It’s like he just wanted to get in and out as soon as possible. If the rumor about Sheriff Caldwell fostering him was true, then he might just want exactly that.

Rumor wasn’t sure why he might be in foster care. Some people said he murdered a guy and just got out of juvie. Others say he’s recovering from some sort of addiction, or that his parents were murdered. Some were pretty outlandish, and Lukas didn’t bother giving them any credit, but the rumor of foster care was pretty solid. He wondered if that was what made a dark cloud appear to hang over the new guy’s head.

His name was Philip, Lukas heard. Philip Shea. Normal name. Lukas wondered if the last name Shea had inspired any shea butter jokes, but he’s not sure how one would go about making a joke about shea butter anyhow.

This is why he keeps his mouth shut. Aloofness is strangely popular with the high school crowd, brooding too. Maybe that’s why Lukas is so interested in this new guy. He knows why he acts the way he does, but why does new kid do it?

It doesn’t hurt that the new kid is the most gorgeous guy he’s ever seen. It wouldn’t be a lie to call Philip kinda feminine. He wore tight jeans and had a natural pout that Lukas could barely tear his eyes from. He was on his phone a lot, but Lukas was never close enough to tell what he was doing. He thought he could make out Facebook once, but he wasn’t sure.

In a largely stagnant town, any change is a big change, and Lukas is simply fascinated. He’s not the only one, or else there wouldn’t be so many rumors in the first place. Everyone wants to know about the new kid, wants to discover some horrific past or sob story--more importantly, they want to be the first to do so. But the kid’s not interested in talking to the others at Tivoli, which makes him all the more interesting. Their curiosity is infectious.

That’s why Lukas is currently hiding in the convenience story at the broken down slushee machine in the corner trying to observe Philip as subtly as possible. Philip is just staring at the snacks, as if deciding. He watches as Philip grabs a bag of chips and turns the bag over, maybe checking the health facts or an expiration date? He pulls out some change from his pocket, counts it, and approaches the counter.

Lukas feels creepy from standing in place so long, so he goes to a different aisle with drinks, where he has a better view of the counter. He watches Philip pay for the snack and begin to walk out. Lukas quickly grabs the first thing he spots and knows he likes--a mountain dew--and rushes to the counter to pay, forgetting to grab the batteries he came for. He almost forgets to collect his change he’s in such a hurry. For what, he’s not sure, since he doesn’t plan to talk to Philip, but the universe seems to have other ideas.

When he steps outside, Philip is standing next to Lukas’s bike, and lowering his phone, like he just took a picture.

Philip looks a little unsure what to do now, but awkwardly says something Lukas’s jumbled mind finally figures is “sorry, just the light was really good, and your bike looks cool. I can, uh, delete it if you want...” He trailed off. Lukas still hadn’t said anything, equally unsure how to first properly interact with the new guy.

“Uh, nah, don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have chosen the design if I didn’t like it and think it looked cool.” He’s not ready for the conversation to end just yet.

“So like, you like taking pictures?” Philip’s nervousness seems to lessen as he falls into an easier subject. He nods and pursed his lips before deciding to respond verbally.

“Yeah, it’s just... something fun to do, I guess. Capture a moment, make it last.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lukas agrees, though he’s never had any special interest in photography or aesthetics. “So, uh, do you just do photos or do you like do video too?” Now Philip seems a bit wary. And he should be because Lukas has no idea why he just said that, but now he’s gotta follow through.

“I mean I’m trying to get sponsors for motocross, but all my videos suck ass because I can’t film and ride my bike at the same time. Plus my girlfriend isn’t any better at it, cause her hands always shake and she doesn’t get me in frame half the time. So I really need better video so...” Lukas sees Philip bite his lip, and decides he can’t let himself get distracted right now. He moves his finger on the forgotten bottle, and the condensation’s wetness and coldness seem jarring, out of place for such a tense moment.

“I don’t know...”

“I could pay you,” Lukas says quickly to sweeten the deal. Now Philip looks engaged.

“How much?”

“Uh...” He didn’t think this through. “Like twelve bucks an hour?” Philip nods his head once, twice in consideration then looks up through his lashes.

“Deal.” Lukas really didn’t think this through. This cute boy’s gonna be the death of him. He just hopes he’s actually good at videography, because Lukas wasn’t kidding about needing sponsors.

\--------------------------------

Philip turns out to be amazing at filming him and gets Lukas’s channel a shit-ton of hits in no time at all. Best investment of his life. He should really be paying him more, he thinks.

Meanwhile at school, things haven’t really changed. Lukas and Philip aren’t friends. They don’t talk, barely make eye contact, and don’t do more than nod at each other in the halls. It doesn’t bother Lukas any more than high school itself already bothers him, but he wonders if it bothers Philip, who still hasn’t made any friends in Tivoli. It doesn’t help that the rumors haven’t calmed down, even with the foster thing confirmed.

It’s a Wednesday when someone asks Lukas again what he thinks of Philip. Usually, Lukas shrugs and changes the topic, but today he feels tired and just doesn’t care as much as usual. So he shrugs like usual, but says,

“He seems cool enough. He’s been helping me get sponsors by filming my jumps and stuff.” As though Lukas is a great authority on the topic, the rumors begin dying down to more mundane ones, though that might just be due to lack of novelty of the new kid by this point. He isn’t ashamed of hanging out with Philip, but he isn’t going around announcing it to people randomly. He’s not really sure why he seems to be keeping Philip a secret, except that he has a bad habit of keeping most things a secret, playing his cards really close to his chest. Still, something about Philip makes Lukas feel he has to be careful what others know of him and Philip’s new acquaintanceship.

So he offers up no extra information and lets his day continue as per normal. He’ll see Philip this afternoon, pay him a large chunk of his allowance, and go home with a smile on his face. Something about hanging out with Philip (showing off for Philip) makes him happy. He wonders if it’s too soon to say they’re friends and decides it probably is. But he also decides next time he sees Philip in the hall, he’ll say hey.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments feed my writer's soul. Please comment. I did this instead of my mountains of homework.
> 
> Happy Eyewitness week! I guess this fits with the prompt for Day 1: First Meeting, so cool.


End file.
